Hearing Set On Otb Proposal

Special Permit Sought For Betting Facility

June 10, 2006|By DON STACOM; Courant Staff Writer

BRISTOL — The public will get to comment Tuesday night on a plan to convert the 10,000-square-foot former banquet hall at Middle and Pine streets into an off-track betting facility with a full-service restaurant and sports bar.

The zoning commission will conduct a hearing at 7 p.m. at city hall on New Haven-based Autotote Enterprises' plan to open what it calls a ``multifaceted entertainment venue'' with an OTB parlor and large-screen TVs.

FOR THE RECORD - This correction ran on page B2, 6/13/06, 5th edition.The zoning commission hearing on Autotote Enterprise's proposal to open an off-track betting facility at Pine and Middle streets will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at city hall. A story on Page B4 Saturday incorrectly reported that the hearing would be held today.

The company applied for a special zoning permit in April, and the commission must conduct the hearing before deciding whether to approve the request.

The developer's traffic consultant recently submitted a report that contends the operation wouldn't increase traffic at Pine and Middle, one of the city's busier intersections.

The proposed OTB facility would create slightly less traffic than the Mrs. B's Buffet House restaurant that recently occupied the space, or the Sophia Room catering hall that was the previous tenant, according to consultant F.A. Hesketh & Associates.

The new facility would replace Autotote's existing 5,000-square-foot OTB parlor on Barlow Street. Hesketh measured traffic there in mid-May, and projected the new facility would draw a maximum of 113 visitors during peak lunchtime hours on weekdays, and just under 150 during peak weekend hours.

``Although it is not expected that the relocation will result in a significant increase in patrons to the gambling portion of the development, the addition of the restaurant service and the doubling in size of the facility would likely result in an increase in the number of patrons overall,'' Hesketh concluded.

Autotote operates similar-sized OTB facilities in New Britain and Waterbury, and a much smaller one in Torrington.

Also on Tuesday, the commission will take up a request for permission to convert an industrial building at 175 Lake Ave. into office space. A new owner wants to lease it to medical and dental practices, data processing firms or business service companies, according to the application.

The 2.8-acre property across from McKinley Avenue has a large, vacant building in the front, and an industrial garage for heavy equipment in the back.

The owner, Advanced Industries LLC, could not be reached Friday, and its attorney, Jon Leary of Berlin, also was unavailable.